Ever struggled with making procedure writing relatable and fun for your young learners? This is not just another worksheet resource. How to Make Playdough is an activity designed specifically for kindergarten and grade one students. It is a fun procedural writing activity that your students will remember forever. It is one my students talk about often. I love it because it covers so many learning objectives!

This How to Make Playdough resource is a comprehensive procedural writing pack designed for early years educators so they can easily and effectively teach procedural writing to their students.

Through the extremely engaging process of creating their own playdough, your students will learn all about the structure and vocabulary of "How to" writing.

This resource includes differentiated worksheets, illustrated procedure and vocabulary cards, posters and hands-on prompts, all designed to ensure your students understand and enjoy the process of writing a recipe procedural text.

My How to Make Playdough Procedure Writing Activity teaches:

Procedural Writing

• Students will be able to understand and use the structure of procedural writing, including sequencing events and providing clear instructions.

• Students will be able to use transitional language such as 'First', 'Next', 'Then', and 'Finally' to guide readers through the steps of a procedure.

Vocabulary Development

• Students will identify and use specific verbs, nouns, and adjectives relevant to the procedure.

• Students will use illustrated vocabulary cards to improve the descriptive language in their writing.

Maths

• Students will measure ingredients using appropriate units of measurement.

• Students will demonstrate an understanding of basic mathematical concepts like fractions (e.g., full, half) during the playdough-making process.

Science

• Students will observe and understand the properties of materials as they explore the playdough ingredients.

• Students will relate the playdough-making process to broader scientific concepts, such as the change in the state of matter.

Critical Thinking and Self-evaluation

• Students will use a pre-writing graphic organiser to plan and organise their procedural writing task.

• Students will use a checklist to self-assess their procedural writing for clarity, punctuation, spelling, and structure.

• Students will use illustrated procedure cards and other visual aids to support and develop their understanding of the procedural writing process.

Collaboration and Social Skills

• Students will work together in a hands-on playdough-making area to promote teamwork and build communication skills.

Creativity and Sensory Learning

• Students will engage their senses of touch, sight, and possibly smell during the playdough-making process.

• Students will develop their creativity by adapting or enhancing the basic playdough recipe with unique ingredients or colours.

From illustrated procedure cards to help students sequence a procedure to differentiated worksheets using the “First, Next, Then, and Finally” language, this resource has everything you need to teach procedural writing to your students.

THIS COMPREHENSIVE PROCEDURAL WRITING PACK CONTAINS:

• Playdough bunting for a learning center or investigation area.

• 3 printable I Can Statements.

• 3 Posters

• A learning provocation prompt to print.

• Cards explaining curriculum-aligned grammar terms: verbs, nouns, adjectives and illustrations.

• Cards illustrating full, empty, whole and half to integrate math objectives.

• Printable illustrated procedure cards for students to discuss and sequence.

• A pre-writing graphic organiser to help your students brainstorm how to make playdough before they even begin writing. This could also be used as a pre-test.

• Printable Playdough Recipe Card – this is my tried and tested recipe and is guaranteed to make beautiful soft playdough.

• Illustrated vocabulary cards. They illustrate all the ingredients, utensils and topic words students will use in their writing.

• 6 Differentiated worksheets including cloze passages and First, Next, Then, and Finally language.

• Procedural writing checklist for students to self-check their writing.

• A5 worksheets to prompt writing at a learning center or investigation area. Sized to fit small clipboards.

• 6 Differentiated one-page booklets for students to make. They also include First, Next, Then, and Finally language. 

Linked to Maths: When students get to make their own playdough, they are introduced to real-world math concepts. They will learn to measure ingredients and visualise half fractions.

Explore Chemistry and Science too: Not only is this activity wonderful for procedure writing, but it is an engaging live science experiment too. Students will learn all about the properties of the ingredients and discover how matter changes state when they make playdough.

I know the challenges of making procedure writing engaging. Classroom activities and lessons need to be relatable and age-appropriate.  That's why this activity isn't just another worksheet. It is a hands-on, full-sensory learning experience. Your students will be so engrossed in their learning they won’t even realise they are mastering the art of procedural writing. Plus, for you? It's all there – done for you! Everything you need - no fuss, just impactful learning.

This resource is available for immediate download and comes in two versions: one tailored to American students and another aligned with the Australian curriculum requirements. Each version uses spelling and terms specific to its respective country.